Researchers at the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) at Florida State University have introduced a new online database aimed at supporting children’s literacy development. The developmental English Lexicon Project (d-ELP) offers open access to word reading data on nearly 10,000 of the most frequently printed English words for students in grades 1 through 5.
“English is a particularly hard language to learn,” said FCRR Director Emeritus Donald Compton, who led the research. “Some words are simply harder for children to learn to read than others, but we don’t have a complete understanding of all the factors that contribute to this. We hope this database will be a resource for educators who are working to help children learn to read.”
The d-ELP database is designed as a comprehensive tool for educators, researchers, curriculum developers and policymakers focused on improving literacy outcomes. It includes continuous Item Response Theory-based estimates of word reading difficulty and various word characteristics, along with extensive raw trial-level data.
Teachers and caregivers can use the database to find lists of words sharing features such as vowel combinations or sound blends, which may help in creating spelling lists or instructional materials tailored to student needs.
Data collection involved 1,907 children from several sites across the United States. Each participant read between 250 and 500 words selected according to their reading proficiency level. The word lists were chosen to cover a broad range of difficulties appropriate for each child.
Learning English poses challenges due to its complex spelling patterns and orthography. Some words remain difficult even with effective decoding strategies. Until now, there has not been a single resource providing detailed information about what makes certain words more challenging for young readers.
The d-ELP addresses this gap by offering an accessible tool that allows users to search for word difficulty ratings and related statistics through an online platform. This can assist teachers in targeting instruction based on individual developmental levels and support efforts toward sequenced instruction and better generalization of reading skills.
The d-ELP database is available free of charge for public, noncommercial use via its website.
